at Montana 52, University of Northern Colorado 7
A breakout game for quarterback Cole Berquist, who notched 292 yards on 26-35 passes (1 interception) and 57 yards rushing.
The Grizzlies racked up more points than expected in a game they were expected to win easily.
The game was valuable experience for several Griz backups, particularly backup frosh quarterback Andrew Selle, who completed 4-5 passes for 59 yards and a score. This might turn out to be the elixir the Griz offense needs one week before traveling to Flagstaff to battle the NAU Lumberjacks for the league lead.
From the Missoulian:
Montana coach Bobby Hauck: "I think our team had fun. Our major point of emphasis this weekend was to go out and have some fun. Ignore anybody who doesn’t like the way we're doing things, and go have fun and enjoy each other, and that’s what we did."
Northern Colorado coach Scott Downing: "It’s fairly obvious we played the No. 3 team in the country today. Montana came out and played well, did everything I thought they could do."
at Montana State 20, Cal State Sacramento 9
Was it the weather that foiled the Hornets? Two weeks after getting frozen out in a snow storm in Ogden, Utah, Sac State grabbed a 9-0 lead under sunny skies until midway through the third quarter when the temperature dropped and the snow blew in.
The steady Cat defense, with bone-chilling help from the weather, shut Cal State down from there. The Cats kept the Hornets out of the endzone... the second straight week without a touchdown for the Hornets.
MSU kicker Eric Fisher: “This stadium, the wind just swirls. I was here all summer kicking with it and got a feel for it and it helped out today.”
Sacramento State coach Marshall Sperbeck: "I felt when they had the wind at their backs, they played better.”
Montana State coach Rob Ash: "I'm just glad we had the winds to our backs in the fourth quarter."
Northern Arizona 28 at Weber State 20
Northern Arizona safety Cyrus Igono returned an interception for a touchdown, blocked a Weber State punt (that resulted in a 2-point safety) and notched 14 tackles in the Lumberjacks’ 29-20 win. Lumberjack quarterback Lance Kriesien ran 24 times, several on quarterback draw plays, for 126 yards and a score.
The win sets up a battle for the Big Sky Conference lead with Montana in Flagstaff next week.
NAU senior defensive end Blair Boynton: "There's no use looking in the future. If you don't win the game that is ahead of you, then what's the game after that even matter? We knew we had to come out today and get a win. That was the bottom line."
From the Ogden Standard-Examiner:
NAU quarterback Lance Kriesien: "I was able to make a couple of moves early in the pocket and find some holes. I guess I just found a lane here and there."
Weber State Coach Ron McBride: "We knew what they were going to run. I mean, everybody in the stadium knew what they were going to run. It was obvious they were going to run quarterback draw and there was a hole big enough to drive 16 people though.”
at Idaho State 38, Portland State 20
Trailing 13-3 at the half, Idaho State forced two Vikings fumbles in the first six minutes of the third quarter. Both fumbles were returned for touchdowns by Bengals defenders.
The Bengals scored two more third quarter touchdowns to coast to an 18 point win. The Bengals forced three more Viking fumbles and intercepted one PSU pass.
Portland State coach Jerry Glanville: "The only problem was when the turnovers were returned for touchdowns. They caught us and went ahead without the defense being on the field, and that's about as bad as it gets."
ISU safety Sterling Mennear: "One of our big goals was to get pressure on the quarterback. If you give their receivers time to develop their routes, they're going to pick you apart."
Idaho State coach John Zamberlin: ''It's awful nice to get this when nobody picked us to win.''
at Brigham Young 42, Eastern Washington 7
The Cougars pay out $325,000 to the Eagles to be their mid-season practice squad. Cougar frosh running back Harvey Unga rushed 21 times for 145 yards and had four receptions for 57 yards.
A comment after the story in the Salt Lake Tribune suggested the Cougars schedule a game with a Salt Lake City high school team for next year.
Brigham Young Coach Bronco Mendenhall: It was good to win a football game, but it certainly wasn't as clean as I would have hoped. I didn't think our offense executed the way they are capable of, and it gives us a great chance to add a sense of urgency."
Brigham Young running back Harvey Unga: "A win is a win. We will take it any way we can whether it be a JC, Division I-AA or a Division I school."
